The lights in the prince's residence were brightly lit. Li Jing, dressed in military uniform and with a calm demeanor, was reporting the current battle situation to the prince...
"The rebels gathered no less than 50,000 troops, hoarded them in Chang'an City, and launched a fierce attack on Taiji Palace along the imperial city line regardless of casualties. Looking at the situation, the ministers saw that it was likely that everyone would be destroyed, and everything would be destroyed! It can be seen that Changsun Wuji was defeated this time.
I made up my mind and wanted to complete my victory in one battle."
Li Jing frowned, his voice heavy.
Guanlong's army is indeed a mob, far less elite than Donggong Liu's, but no matter how elite the army is, it cannot withstand too many enemies. One against five is considered the best among the elite. The so-called one against ten can only be an isolated phenomenon.
In particular, siege warfare has very high requirements on the number of people. No matter how elite you are, if you are passively trapped in a defensive situation and lack mobility, you cannot fully demonstrate the advantage of your soldiers like you can in field battles. No one can resist being passively beaten.
Can't live.
Moreover, since the beginning of the war, Donggong Sixth Army has suffered heavy losses and is exhausted. It cannot get timely replacement of personnel and has suffered very serious attrition. On the other hand, the Guanlong Army has taken advantage of the geographical advantage and obtained a steady stream of supplies.
The gap in combat power is no longer as big as it was at the beginning of the war.
Although the front line of Chengtianmen has not fallen yet, this battle has been very difficult. Even a famous commander like Li Jing feels that he is unable to do what he wants...
Li Chengqian knelt down behind the coffee table and sighed, saying: "Changsun Wuji is very good at calculating. He not only wants to cut off his own arm to eliminate the threat in the eyes of the British, but also wants to take advantage of the opportunity to see if he can win the favor of God.
He favored the overthrow of the Eastern Palace... But no matter what, after this battle, most of the foundations of the world's powerful families will be cut off, and they will no longer have the past situation of controlling government affairs and monopolizing local areas."
Weakening the powerful families, bringing all the power of the court to the center, and centralizing the imperial power... This is the ideal that my father has been pursuing tirelessly over the years, but he never expected to achieve it after his death. However, this situation was at the expense of the empire.
The stability, the wealth in Guanzhong, the lives of countless soldiers and people, I wonder if my father’s spirit in heaven would be happy if he knew about it?
After all, the price is too high...
Of course, Li Jing also understood that no matter who wins in the end, this mutiny will be a devastating blow to the powerful family, and the imperial power will be concentrated like never before... But the premise of all this is to defend the Tai Chi Palace so that the prince can successfully ascend the throne in the future.
, otherwise what’s the point?
After pondering for a while, he asked: "In view of the humble minister, why not issue a decree to the British Duke at this moment, ordering his troops to return to the court and return to the East Palace to aid?"
This is not really asking Li Ji to come to the rescue, but forcing Li Ji to express his position. Otherwise, Li Ji will still be in Tongguan, with an unclear position and unclear tendencies. This is too passive for the East Palace. They are fighting life and death in Chang'an City, and finally
However, Li Ji sent his troops back to the capital to help Zhou suppress him... By that time, the East Palace had no way to retreat.
Even though he was called the "Military God", he was extremely conceited about his tactical, strategic and military qualities, but Li Jing was not arrogant enough to think that he could lead the Sixth Army of the East Palace to defeat the Guanlong rebels and the hundreds of thousands of Eastern Expeditions commanded by Li Ji.
The army...
Li Chengqian pondered without saying a word.
He understood what Li Jing meant. This morning, he was able to test out Li Ji's position and tendency so that he could be well-targeted. If Li Ji did not stand on the side of the East Palace, then what was the point of defending the Taiji Palace now? Even if the rebels were repelled, Li Ji would not be able to lead a large-scale attack until Li Ji led his army.
The attack was still a complete defeat. It would be better to respond as soon as possible and simply withdraw from the Taiji Palace and retreat to the counties in Hexi to make preparations.
After thinking for a while, he said in a deep voice: "Gu understands what Duke Wei means, but Gu will never give up Taiji Palace, no matter whether he faces the Guanlong rebels or the Eastern Expedition army under the British Duke. Maybe this decision is a bit stupid. But what Gu wants to tell Duke Wei is that even if Gu is killed in the Tai Chi Palace, he absolutely does not want to see the empire fall into civil war."
As long as he withdraws from Taiji Palace and Chang'an City, no matter whether it is the Guanlong rebels or Li Ji, he will immediately establish another prince to compete with him, the legitimate prince.
When there are two princes, one internal and one external, or even two emperors, it is inevitable that the empire will fall into division. A huge civil war that is destined to take a long time and drain the vitality of the empire will soon occur.
So what if there is a winner in the end?
The country is shattered, and everything is desolate. The people who have just lived a good life for a few days are once again in dire straits. The population has dropped sharply, the finances have collapsed, the Nuo Empire has been torn apart, and the scenes of war and war in the late Sui Dynasty are even repeated...
This is not what Li Chengqian wants.
"I would rather die in this inner gate, and would rather be replaced by King Wei or King Jin, than drag the empire into a civil war single-handedly."
Li Chengqian's eyes were firm and his tone was sonorous.
If he had been a little hesitant before about sticking to Tai Chi Palace or withdrawing from Chang'an City, at this moment he had made up his mind and would never waver again.
Li Jing looked at Li Chengqian with stern eyes. Seeing his magnanimous expression, he nodded slightly and asked, "Your Highness has made up his mind?"
Li Chengqian said: "I will never regret it!"
It is not difficult for him to die without hesitation. The rare reason is that in order to prevent his son from being used and manipulated by ambitious people to become a means of splitting the empire, he has to let his son die with him... The world is in turmoil, childish. Why?
However, as one lives in an imperial family, is a descendant of the emperor, and enjoys the glory and power in the world, naturally there is no such thing as innocence...
Li Jing looked indifferent, stroking his beard and nodding: "Now that His Highness has made up his mind, I, an old man like me, swear to live and die with His Highness!"
He never wanted to sway, but because of his political deficiencies, he had been a "second minister" for half his life. Linlao was able to gain Li Chengqian's trust, reuse, and even rely on him in life and death. He did not intend to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and fall with the wind. Be a true loyal minister for once.
After fighting for a lifetime, countless soldiers turned into corpses in front of his eyes. Life and death had already been destroyed, waiting for nothing to happen.
He immediately said: "How should the Duke of Yue deal with it?"
The prince is determined to die, and if he fails, he will be benevolent. He himself is willing to follow him to the death, but Fang Jun outside the Xuanwu Gate is not so sure. This son has a great reputation, is young and powerful, and has Youtun Guards under his command. The navy is as powerful as the world. The army may not be willing to be buried in Chang'an and buried in Guanzhong.
When nothing can be done, he will definitely evacuate Guanzhong. With his ability and character, how can he be willing to bow down to Guan Long or Li Ji and beg for mercy?
I'm afraid I still have to fight vigorously.
Li Chengqian smiled, poured tea for Li Jing with a pot in his hand, and said warmly: "The Duke of Yue is different from others. His father once said that everyone else is loyal to the king, but Duke Yue is loyal to the empire, or in other words, he is loyal to the king." The world is loyal to all people, and the ambition in life is to seek peace for the people. Others may lead their troops to withdraw for the sake of power and future, and then fight against the central government, but the Duke of Yue will never do it. If the day comes that he will die here alone. , the Duke of Yue would probably only lead his army across the Qinling Mountains, enter Hanzhong, pass through Bashu, and then go straight down the river to Huating Town, then pack up his bags and sail across the ocean."
When Fang Xuanling went to Jiangnan, and Xiao Shuer, who was pregnant, accompanied her, it was obvious that Fang Jun was prepared for the worst and the best.
Fight a civil war and seize the throne?
I'm afraid Fang Jun doesn't have that kind of interest. If he had the energy, it would be easier to lead the navy to conquer a country overseas with both hands...
Li Jing was silent for a long time, thinking repeatedly between "loyalty to the emperor" and "loyalty to the world", and was filled with emotions for a while.
Those who are "loyal to the emperor" may be loyal to a generation, but only those who are "loyal to the world" are likely to become famous ministers in the world, loved by hundreds of millions of people, and their names will last forever.
Maybe, it would be possible to build a temple to accompany the meal.
In terms of realm, there is actually a big gap between myself and that guy...
This made the military god of the Tang Dynasty a little confused - what had he lived for at his age? He was once a young man with a silver saddle and a white horse, and every time he thought about it, he was proud and satisfied. He felt that although his official career was wasted after middle age, at least he was young.
The time was high-spirited and unrestrained, but it was not wasted.
But now if we compare it with Fang Er...didn't I live in vain back then?
*****
Inside Yanshou Square, the lights are brightly lit.
Scriveners and scouts were constantly coming and going. News from various armies inside and outside the city generally flew into this shop that was temporarily conquered as a "headquarters". Then orders were issued from here and distributed to
The Guanlong army and the private armies of various clans in Guanzhong.
In the side hall that was temporarily used as a residence, Changsun Wuji had just finished soaking his feet. The old servant made a pot of strong tea and carefully wiped his feet clean before carrying the footbath out, leaving Changsun Wuji behind.
Avoid being in the hall with Yu Wenshi and the other two people.